HARRISON, N.J.—New York Red Bulls midfielder Tim Cahill deftly manned the Xbox controls in the Red Bull Arena players’ lounge Monday and struck a small but perhaps symbolic blow on behalf of his underperforming club.

His FIFA 13 opponent, D.C. United counterpart Chris Pontius, was the one celebrating three months ago here in Harrison, where the talented but perennially flawed Big Apple bridesmaids sustained one of the most agonizing losses in their tortured 17-year history.

Visiting D.C. eliminated New York from the MLS Cup quarterfinals with a stunning 1-0 victory, hastening yet another Red Bulls’ housecleaning that followed the anticipated script: A new European GM (Jerome de Bontin) already was in place and a European sporting director with a big name but no MLS experience (Andy Roxburgh) was hired to oversee the on-field product.

But the appointment of a new coach was delayed.

“I just kept hearing names about European coaches,” Cahill said Monday. “It’s hard to bring in European coaches that understand the league and the structure … what’s going to be best to build a team.”

Ultimately, Roxburgh and the Red Bulls surprised nearly everybody at the end of January when the club named longtime defender and assistant coach Mike Petke, a Long Island native, as New York’s 12th full-time manager. Based on the evidence available Monday as MLS staged a media day at Red Bull Arena, Petke’s appointment has energized an organization that has lacked local roots and a consistent direction since its 1996 launch.

Petke, 37, never has been a head coach and lacks the playing pedigree of foreign New York stars like Cahill, Thierry Henry and Juninho Pernambucano. But he has the players buzzing; they’re excited to be Red Bulls and ready to turn the page on a frustrating and fruitless era.

As about a dozen people gathered to watch Cahill’s Red Bulls dismantle Pontius’ United, 3-0, in that game of FIFA, it was easy to wonder whether MLS’s beleaguered New York franchise finally has found a winning formula.

“I’ve only been at two clubs (Millwall and Everton), where I’ve had great relationship with my managers, especially David Moyes (at Everton). That’s the reason why were successful,” Cahill said. “For Petke to be manager is unbelievable. For the club, the league, the Red Bulls, it’s really important that we make inroads.”

Far from believing he’s above listening to a first-time coach who doesn’t boast a similar resume, Cahill said he sees in Petke a sense of devotion, competitiveness and attention to detail to which he and Henry could relate.

“He loves the club and that’s what this club needs, somebody who will actually take it home with him,” Cahill said. “Like what we do, me and Thierry, every time we train and play, losing in a training session or a game, we take it home with us. ... (The Red Bulls) needed that person.”

This was a team that, for years, lacked the chemistry and 90-minute commitment needed to win. As coaches and players came and went, a sort of transitory and mercenary pall descended over the club.

Former Red Bulls playmaker Dwayne De Rosario, who won the MLS MVP award after he was traded to D.C. United in 2011, said Monday that “it was like every man for himself” under Petke’s predecessor, Hans Backe.

“It was a team where you couldn’t go wrong. (Backe) had all the tools. (He) just didn’t know how to use the tools,” De Rosario said. “They lacked the organization because of the lack of information they were getting.”

New York couldn’t close out games, couldn’t stay disciplined when faced with adversity and couldn’t keep the ball out of its own net. The Red Bulls yielded 46 goals in 2012, the second-most among the 10 MLS Cup playoff qualifiers, and got worse defensively in each of Backe’s three seasons.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what happened last season,” Cahill said. “It seemed very open and messy. There was no stability, whereas now there’s stability. There’s Petke.”

He was a workmanlike defender who willed himself to three MLS All-Star nods and two appearances with the U.S. national team. An inspirational figure who was among the few fan favorites in New York, the untested Petke already has credibility with his players.

“On the most simple of levels, Mike is a motivator,” said Red Bulls defender Heath Pearce, who also has played in Denmark and Germany and earned 35 caps with the U.S. national team. “He made his career as a player who was hard-nosed, kind of a hard-ass guy on the field, and to have a guy like that, you know we’re going to get up every game and have that pressure and motivation from a guy you know helped for a long time to build this league up.”

Perhaps referencing the way it used to be, Pearce continued, “If guys can jog around training and get away with it, then what’s going to happen in the games where you need guys in the 90th minute to make plays? From the ground level up, accountability is going to be a major factor for us. Them enabling us to hold each other to that level, with (the coaching staff’s) support, is going to be a big thing for us.”

Speculation circulated throughout the tenures of Backe and former GM Erik Soler that the coach was somewhat detached or aloof, that the GM was difficult to work with, that there were favorites in the locker room and that Henry really ran the show.

Pearce said Monday that the culture already has changed. The new front office has made a more consistent and concerted effort to help players arrange personal affairs, thus eliminating distractions and excuses. Small touches like flying wives, kids and girlfriends down to Florida during preseason training also helps create a “family atmosphere,” something this club of transients hasn’t experienced in the past.

And that starts with Petke, whose players already are buying into a no-nonsense, New York approach that this wayward club has needed for so long.

“When I first came here (last year), Petke was in the changing room constantly with me, talking about players, giving me input on the youngsters, about the league, the other teams—he knows everything,” Cahill said. “You build teams from discipline and defense and work your way forward and I think this is probably what our team has needed for a while. … It’s brought massive credibility to the Red Bulls.”